FRAMINGHAM, MA – August 4, 2010 – IDC Energy Insights and Intelligent Utility magazine, an Energy Central publication today announced the results of the annual UtiliQ rankings – a joint study designed to cut through the smart grid hype and provide benchmarks for measuring the progress utilities are making on the path to intelligent energy. For the second straight year, Sempra Energy's San Diego Gas & Electric is the most intelligent utility in America, according to the annual UtiliQ survey of U.S. electric utilities.

"It's clear that the $11 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for smart grid activities, has contributed considerably toward increasing utility intelligence during 2010," said Jill Feblowitz, practice director, Utilities and Oil and Gas IT Strategies at IDC Energy Insights. "Many of the utilities that received ARRA awards last fall are contributing more to their smart grid projects than the required 50/50 match. Projects making use of ARRA funds helped some of the award recipients move up in this year's UtiliQ rankings. However, our research has shown that even without ARRA funding many utilities are taking a variety of intelligent approaches to managing the grid and serving up the benefits of new technologies to the customer."

The UtiliQ ranking uses five criteria to evaluate utilities: operational efficiency, commitment to integrating renewables, smart energy initiatives, demand response/energy efficiency programs, and information technology investments in support of business process improvements. All but three of the top 25 intelligent utilities received "near genius" scores in smart grid IQ, indicating the importance of smart grid developments for achieving utility intelligence.

A complete list of the top 25 utilities can be found on the Intelligent Utility Magazine website www.intelligentutility.com [http://www.intelligentutility.com].

For additional information about this study, or to arrange a one-on-one briefing with Jill Feblowitz, please contact Sarah Murray at 781-794-3214 or sarahbethmurray@gmail.com. Reports are available to qualified members of the media. For information on purchasing reports, contact insights@idc.com; reporters should email sarahbethmurray@gmail.com.

About IDC Energy Insights

IDC Energy Insights provides research-based advisory and consulting services focused on market and technology developments in the energy and utility industries. Staffed by senior analysts with decades of industry experience, IDC Energy Insights covers both the utility and oil & gas segments – providing independent, timely, and relevant analysis focused on key business and technology issues. IDC Energy Insights serves a diverse and growing global client base, including electric, gas and water utilities, IT suppliers, independent power producers, retail energy providers, oil and gas companies, equipment manufacturers, government agencies, financial institutions, and professional services firms. International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology market. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world’s leading technology, media, research, and events company. For more information, please visit www.idc-ei.com [http://www.idc-ei.com], email info@idc-ei.com, or call 508-935-4400.

About Energy Central:

Since 1995 Energy Central, based in Aurora, Colorado, has been widely known as the online hub for power industry professionals. With an unparalleled reach into the power industry, the Energy Central community has grown to encompass six web sites, fourteen eNewsletters, two print magazines – Intelligent Utility and EnergyBiz, two monthly webcast series, two highly acclaimed industry events and a strong market research arm, Sierra Energy Group. Energy Central champions the development of information-enabled energy(TM) by facilitating executive level knowledge sharing events as well as management level events where top government and industry officials provide power industry professionals with insights into the future of the power industry. Topic-specific content includes: Grid T&D – Smart Grid and Metering; Generation and Storage for Renewables, Solar, Nuclear, Hydro and Wind; and End-Use – Demand Response and Energy Efficiency. Energy Central — we connect the power industry.